Pontoon Ride

 My baby brother and his wife invited us for a pontoon ride.  Neighbors Jo and Steve came too.  It was a warm afternoon...a really nice end of September day...high was 84 F or 29 C eh!

Not yet peak but it may rain the next few days and who knows what will be left after that.

A juvenile Loon that has not left yet. 

Baxter...getting his nose in the breeze to get all the lake news. 

I had a very busy day.  I did some house cleaning, laundry and some lawn mowing/ leaf mulching.  

Far Guy did some woodcarving. 

Far Side

Loony

We were invited to go fishing.  Far Guy fishes...I do not...I took my camera. 

 

Loons on the lake, there are two pair; one pair has one baby and the other pair has two babies. 

We were trolling along and all of a sudden a Loon surfaced right by the pontoon.  Exciting...It was diving and swimming under water...I have not seen that before!  Wow!  

It has a fish! 

Later we saw it trying to feed two babies...

There was some Loon talking going on....the fuzzy youngsters didn't seem real interested in the fish...Sunfish again?  Perhaps they are at the teenage stage...they should be about 8 weeks old. 

It was a fun evening (Monday) out on the water.   My brothers each caught fish...Crappies...my other baby brother filleted them out and sent them home with us...we had them for supper last night!  They were very good.... coated with flour first, then dipped in egg, finally in Ritz Cracker crumbs and fried in a bit of bacon grease.  That is how I fry fish.

Far Side

Winter revisited

Monday and Tuesday were like one of those frozen flashbacks.  Then it happened.  It snowed and the snow stayed on the ground.

Chance loves scooping up fresh snow in his mouth.

  Winter was here about 48 hours then he released his icy grip and the sun came out.

 

You can almost watch the grass turn green.

During this cold spell I also heard a Loon calling down on the lake. 

What else could we do but cook winter survival food…hot roast beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy and cooked carrots and fresh fruit.

I worked on my fur ball scarf and a bead project…Far Guy was busy painting bikini clad women for his train set…there must be a beach up there now.

Getting Older

After the fundraising dinner last week, Monday meetings, Monday program and a class on Thursday I was tired.  If I had a rope I would have been near the end of it.

Far Guy has pericarditis again.  At least this time he recognized the signs early before an ambulance and air ambulance ride was necessary like back in 2011.  Pericarditis can happen after a virus…he is feeling “almost normal” after 36 hours on the anti- inflammatory medication.  Hopefully after this course of medication he will be all better.   If it ain’t one thing it is another.

My Doctor finally found a blood pressure medication for me that doesn’t cause hives.  It remains to be seen if it lowers my blood pressure significantly or not..it sends me looking for a potty every hour or so.  I finally printed out a list of blood pressure meds and circled the ones in red that I cannot take.  Some make me sleep for 20 hours straight, some make me lose hair in gobs, some make my joints hurt so bad I have a hard time walking, some make me real short of breath, some rob me of potassium, some just don’t lower my blood pressure at all and most give me hives.  When I was first diagnosed with High Blood Pressure I gave up coffee and staved off medications for several years. I don’t like taking medications..and the stupid blood pressure pill is the only one I take except for vitamins. I “think” that The Lyme's Disease may be mostly behind me and if the blood pressure medication situation is resolved I might feel like a real person one of these days.

Getting old is not for sissies.

This Loon parent has two babies, one is on his/her back.  We stopped to walk Chance at a Public Access and saw this Loon.  I only had my idiot camera..I was bummed out..my big girl camera would have captured this wonderfully. We were out looking for garage sales not wildlife. Yesterday was one of my days off.

I was happy to see a successful loon hatch! Now if they can avoid the Eagles, Snapping Turtles and Northerns..everyday is an adventure in survival for a loon baby:)

Loony

Last night after supper we went for a ride.  On my way home from work I saw the loons on the Mill pond.  A pair.  They mate for life..but take separate winter vacations..then meet up again in the spring to fool around and raise babies then in the fall they leave  as a group with other loons and go their separate ways for the winter.

I watched this pair for quite some time..it is magical to see them again.

They are waiting at the Mill pond for the big lake to open up.

Not much chance of that happening real soon.  Usually Straight Lake has three pairs of loons.  They are very territorial..and will not share “their” part of the lake.   Usually they have laid their eggs by now and are sitting on the nest tending them. 

Here is the link to the loon cam, it is not active yet but should be any day now.

It is still cold here in Minnesota. It freezes at night, and barely hits 50 degrees F during the day.  The wind has been howling the last couple of days. 

With the electric heater in my office at the museum it got to 54 degrees F (12 C) today! Work is progressing at the museum.  I had some wonderful volunteers this past week! If you keep moving all day long you don’t get the bone chilling cold shivers until the end of the day.

I guess the Governor will fish on the river.  It should make the National News..Minnesota is so cold they still have ice for Opening Fishing.  One more week will tell the story:)

Indigo Bunting

This year were are fortunate to have Bluebirds and Indigo Buntings in our yard.  The Bluebirds have finally decided which house they wanted..the one on the back driveway.

The very showy Indigo Bunting Male has been here.  His not so beautiful partner ( she is brownish not beautiful blue) must be hanging around here someplace.

Far Guy moved the patio furniture out of my garage and everyday after work we sit out there and watch the birds.

Chance and I even sat out there one day when it was raining. The birds are used to Chances comings and goings.

The loon nest that I follow in Minnesota, had a successful hatch of two babies this year.  It was great to see both little fuzzy brown chicks on the nest this afternoon.  Last year neither of the eggs hatched..so this years hatch was a real treat! :)

All for the birds

Far Guy has been hearing the Loons since Wednesday the 27th of April. I have not heard them yet..it was way too windy to hear anything yesterday except for the wind rushing through the barren trees.

Our acquaintance Larry has the Loon Cam up and running again. I put up a link off to the left of my blog. The Loons are building a nest in preparation for laying the eggs!

Here are a few birds that are in our yard this week.

A Downey Woodpecker

A female Cardinal!!  We were both very excited to see her, our neighbors have been reporting that they have Cardinals..we have never had one in our yard before..so it was quite an event! 

This is one of our new feeders..the Downey Woodpecker likes to hang on it upside down.

We fill this feeder almost everyday, some of the seeds end up on the ground for the Juncos and the fat squirrel. I have been noticing some fresh rabbit sign..so we are feeding the entire neighborhood.

This is a very happy Pine Siskin. They arrived last weekend along with the Purple Finches.

Far Guy put up another bird bath so that the birds would have more fresh water..they like to drink water out of Chances Coffee Can..and of course Chance shares.

We enjoy watching the birds especially this time of year when the bird populations change so much.  We still have Juncos, Nuthatches and Chickadees visiting the feeders:)

Minnesota Happenings!

The Loon nest that I have been watching since April will not be producing any chicks this year.  Today is day 40 or 38, depending on which egg is left on the nest, egg one or egg two. Normal hatch time is 28 days.  One of the eggs was rolled off into the water twice, one time Larry retrieved it and placed it back in the nest..the next time he did not replace the egg.  The remaining egg is ten to twelve days past the hatch date.  From what I have viewed with this set of loons they have been haphazard parents at best, in my opinion this is a first year set of parents, they have been nothing like the nesting loons from previous years.  I am convinced that if this nest was on shore a predator would have gotten the eggs by now.  Anyway, the nesting platform in the case of an old egg is not a good thing. The Loon doesn't know when to give up, and will not abandon it, there is a powerful bond between the Loon and it's eggs.  The likelihood of predators taking the old egg are slim.  Larry is going to remove the egg tonight about 11PM Central Time, so that it can be taken into the DNR, and so that the Loons can go on with their lives.  The State Bird of Minnesota is the Common Loon.

 Yesterday we checked on the Showy Lady's Slippers or Cypripedium reginae, the State Flower of Minnesota.  They are blooming very nicely, a week earlier than normal.  Today we hope to get to the big hillside at Snellman, Minnesota and another secret location to check out the blooms.

  I made some posters for Far Guy.  I guess he was in charge of the advertising for the Fire Halls annual fundraiser.  Every year on Father's Day they have a huge picnic, including homemade pies and roast pork. Since I am no good at pies, I made them posters:)
** Update, Thanks to my readers the mystery plant yesterday was identified as a Blackberry!

Long Lake Loons

One day we went by the Long Lake Public Landing,  we learned years ago that a public landing is a good place to walk Chance.  Of course he loves the water..and we always get to inhale the scent of wet dog until he dries out.

As we approached the landing, Far Guy said "Look at the loon!"   I took a few photos out the window of the car, then I got out of the car and watched.  It was one single loon fishing.

He or she was unafraid, and dove and surfaced many times before finally swimming off too far to photograph. 

 It was only after the loon was out of the area that we let Chance out for his walk..or partial swim.

I have been watching Larry Backlund's Loon Cam (the link is on the left).  I have watched for three years now, this pair of loons seems different from the previous years.  This set seems young and immature..not old and wise like the others.  Yesterday one of the eggs was rolled off the nest into the water..here is the You Tube Video.  The eggs should be hatching any time now..many people are watching and waiting.

 Long Lake Loon

Straight Lake has at least two sets of loons this year.. possibly three..they are still nesting too.  I hope we get to see the babies ..from a distance:)

Relaxing

It was a relaxing day on the lake, it was a tad cool..but non the less a good day to cruise the shoreline.

Reminder to self, the next time you photograph your own feet, you should probably give yourself a pedicure first, at the very least you could use some moisturizer on those dry and cracking heels.  Oh and summer might be coming..so set a date to shave those legs too.  Perhaps you should do your one leg a day thing again..that way you are always half way ready, as long as you remember which one you did last.

There are at least two sets of Loons on the nearby lake this year, from what I observed they are not nesting yet.  Some years there are three pairs on the lake..the Eagle was fishing..and a Crow dive bombed him or her..Yeah! Crows!!  Plucky little birds.  If I were a bird I would probably be one of those Crows, caw cawing all day long...dreaming of being a beautiful Loon..but stuck in a Crows body irritating the Eagles.  If you were a bird, what kind would you be? :)

Looney Bin

Sometimes I feel like I live in a looney bin, and I have the rug to prove it.  A gift from our friends Sue and Joe in Indiana.  It made us both laugh out loud..it is the perfect gift!   I collect Loons..they are mainly in the kitchen..but I have several upstairs..and this rug ended up in front of the fireplace downstairs..it is perfect!

Last fall Far Guy and I attended a carving show and sale.  While Far Guy was off doing his thing, I sauntered by all the tables..lots of people just ignored me.  I can't figure this out..people selling their wares were sitting down and reading..which in my opinion is not exactly customer friendly.  Finally I came across a very interesting table, a guy and gal with a friendly hello and carvings with personality.. proof that I was not an invisible shopper.  The thing is.. their masterpieces sold themselves, and they made me laugh out loud..talking to them was the icing on the cake.

This is the loon that made me laugh ...it hangs near my calendar the one that Far Guy never looks at between the kitchen and the computer area..all he has to do is sit back in his computer chair and look at the calendar and the loon.  Now me, I am way too far away at my computer to see the calendar..I must get up and walk over to it, which takes much more effort than just glancing up.

Part of the reason I feel like I live in a looney bin..must have something to do with the long winter.  Although it rained yesterday..some of the snow melted..but mainly things just got more slippery.  The driveway is like a big old ice skating rink. Six more weeks until the real Loons come..six weeks until we will hear them at night..calling for their mates..you know they don't overwinter together..they just meet up in the spring to lay eggs and raise their chicks..then they are foot loose and fancy free all winter long. That is a pretty good arrangement if you ask me..but I am way past the raising chicks part..so I am stuck in the looney bin:)

"Loony" Winner

Big drum roll.....and the winner is..

Please contact me with your snail mail address and whatever inscription you would like on the reverse side..my email address is in my profile! Congratulations Nezzy you will now be as loony as me! Thank you to everyone who commented with your traditions..I enjoyed them all!

Today I will share one of my miserable failures..it is a clay loon..I still have a whole bunch of this clay..it was sparkly and black..Fimo clay I think. I even numbered the loons on the bottom..I believe I gave one to my Mother..Mothers usually are thrilled with whatever their children make for them. My best friend Susan may have one also.. best friends always give you the benefit of the doubt. This clay was stiff and hard to work with..I think I actually built up my arm muscles trying to form this stiff clay into something that was recognizable as a Loon. I finally gave up..well ..not completely..this was years ago..I still have the peanut butter jar full of packages of black clay and a set of special clay sculpting tools. Now if I had thrown that jar away, I could say I really gave up. Why do you suppose I kept it, because I don't like giving up? Because I am a glutton for punishment and like to be reminded of my failures? It was probably a case of "just in case" ..I keep lots of "Stuff" for just in case.

I have two of these Loons on the tree..they hang a little off center..their heads are too large and misshapen, they look a little funny. Every year I look at them and shake my head and smile...the poor little things. BUT they are mine..I guess I must have two..one to hand down to each of our daughters..a reminder that their Mother was a little loony and sometimes she didn't do everything exactly perfect..but she tried:)

Loons eggs are hatching!

Today in Minnesota, one loon egg has hatched and we are waiting on the other egg to hatch..the new baby loon is a fuzzy ball on the nest with his or her parents. Here is the Link! :)